SIUE Police K9 and Handler Demonstrate Incredible Partnership in Pursuit of Justice
The bond that exists between a dog and its owner is unparallel. For Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s electronic detection K9 Marshall and his handler Detective Sergeant Dave Baybordi, the bond is no different.
Marshall, a 4.5-year-old black English Labrador Retriever, joined SIUE in 2020 and has become a big hit, capturing the hearts of the campus community. He has not only had a great impact bringing joy to those that he interacts with, but he works to keep our community safe as an essential asset in assisting with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force in Southwest Illinois.
“Marshall detects the presence of the chemical triphenylphosphineoxide (TPPO),” explained Baybordi. “When he comes into that odor, he alerts me that he has found it. He generally will sit and paw at the item or in the item's direction if it is within something else. He will also lay down to alert, depending on the circumstance.”
TPPO is typically found in many electronics and especially those that have the ability to store electronic media, evidentiary to ICAC cases. Marshall locating hidden electronic devices can help bring justice to predators that prey on children.
"Marshall has found evidentiary items numerous times in search warrants that us humans did not locate,” said Baybordi. “His presence and ability give us that piece of mind in those exploitation cases to know we recovered everything during the search process of the warrant.”
To keep up Marshall’s remarkable locating skills, Baybordi works with him as part of his training every day utilizing Marshall’s favorite thing: food.
“We generally do his training in the evening, and he lets me know when it is time,” Baybordi continued. “Around 5 p.m., Marshall is usually staring me down because it is time to work, a.k.a eat.”
Along with his love of food, Marshall does have a few funny quirks that stand out. Baybordi says he rarely barks, sometimes going a whole week without barking at all. Marshall loves water, but won’t enter a pool of water, which is not typical for his breed. He is also an avid fetch player and loves to cuddle, especially when a football game is on television.
SIUE is grateful to have such a great furry friend in Marshall to not only help keep our community safe, but to provide lots of joyful interactions with all who he encounters.
Photos: SIUE’s Police Department electronic detection K9 Marshall and his handler Detective Sergeant Dave Baybordi.
K9 Marshall.
